wraith and wonder
by coffee666
Summary: Steve and Bucky get a great deal on a new place due to rumors that it's haunted. Steve doesn't believe a word until he's face to face with the ghost of a beautiful woman - and only he can see her. Having a roommate that's a ghost sounds hard enough as is, if only she wasn't so beautiful. Steve/Peggy
1. Chapter 1

"Pretty great, right?" Bucky couldn't stop beaming as Steve followed him into their new place. The front door opened into the living room, with the kitchen just a bit to the left.

"Yeah…" Steve said, unable to take his eyes off the high ceilings and clean walls. He'd thought Bucky was full of it when he'd found them a modest sized place in Brooklyn. It was close enough that Bucky could still visit his folks, but far enough that it was almost like staring a new life somewhere.

Bucky dropped his set of keys onto the white kitchen counter and hopped up next to them. He leaned back so his shaggy dark hair rested against the cabinets.

"I told you I didn't want any favors, though…" Steve tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he turned to peer out of the window above the sink. He could see the Bucky's car filled with boxed of their stuff parked on the street below. Bucky's father would arrive with more boxes in a while.

"No favors." Bucky said, opening his eyes. "It's in our budget, I swear."

Steve glanced once more around the reasonably sized kitchen – fridge included. He padded out into the living room and sighed when he could practically feel the high-quality carpet through his sneakers.

"Alright, how'd we get it so cheap then?" Steve stalked back into the kitchen and glared at Bucky, who was still sitting on the counter.

An absolutely wicked grin spread across Bucky's face. "Because it's haunted."

"What." Steve rolled his eyes and turned to leave the kitchen.

"I'm serious." Bucky hoped off the counted and followed Steve towards the front door. "The landlord said that some girl died in it."

"You're full of it." Steve shook his head slightly. He just wanted to find the boxes with his art supplies and settle on the futon they'd be using as a makeshift couch until the rest of their furniture arrived.

"Well, of course I don't really believe it." Bucky shoved flipped the hood of his jacket up over his head as they descended the stairs one floor to ground level. "But the landlord said it freaked the last few people out. They said they heard noises at night and stuff."

"Yeah right…" Steve mumbled, pushing the building's front door open and walking out onto the cold street.

"Worked out well for us, at least." Bucky unlocked the car and Steve grabbed one of the boxes from the backseat. He set it on the sidewalk and dove back in, looking for his supplies.

"Hey, take that up, will ya?" Bucky gestured towards the box Steve had just set aside. "It's got dishes in it, so we don't gotta eat take-out straight from the boxes."

Steve rubbed his hands together for a second, trying to warm them, before grabbed the box and going back inside. He took his time going back up. He knew Bucky only let him take that box because it was one of the lighter ones. At least he knew not to insult Steve completely by suggesting he take the one full of pillows. Steve maybe ninety pounds and asthmatic, but he could carry a box, for Christ's sake. Bucky was one of the few who understood that.

Steve (with some difficulty) balanced the box on his bony hip and swung the apartment door open. He finally set the box on the kitchen counter and leaned against it for a moment to breathe. Even though it was November, he could feel sweat prickling at his brow.

He pushed the sleeves of his sweater up past his slim forearms and opened the box. Grabbing a glass, he turned to fill it with water from the sink when he stopped short.

A woman was standing in the middle of the kitchen. She was as pale as the moon, with dark eyes and red lips. The glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the linoleum floor.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" the woman leaned closer to him, and he glanced down to see that her legs and dress were faded to complete transparency, leaving her floating about a foot above the floor.

Steve felt his blood running both hot and cold. He could feel his heart slamming in his chest and his pulse beating in his wrists. He squeezed his eyes shut for a split second, only to open them and find that she was still there.

"Oh…my…holy shit…" Steve's voice was hoarse. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. A few strands of her dark hair fell around her face as she tilted her head, looking at him with curiosity.

"Can you…see me?!" her voice was like wind, it seemed to come from every corner of the room at once. And as she leaned even closer to him, he could see straight through her to the other side of the kitchen.

Steve was shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut again and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. When he opened them, her eyes were locked on something just past him. He quickly whipped around to see Bucky in the doorway.

"What the hell happened?" Bucky dropped the boxes he was carrying on the counter and walked into the kitchen, where the broken glass still laid.

"I nearly had a heart attack!" Steve said, waving his arm at the woman.

"What?" Bucky looked at Steve with a mix of worry and confusion. His eyes flicked in the woman's direction. Slightly offended at Steve's words, she crossed her arms and floated backwards.

"Don't you see it?" Steve asked, his cheeks flushed and his brow was sweating again.

"What? What am I looking at?" Bucky starred at the far side of the small kitchen, looking straight through the woman.

"The ghost." Steve breathed.

A grin spread across Bucky's face. "Oh, very funny, asshole." He bent down and began picking up the larger pieces of glass.

"Don't—" Steve started, but Bucky waved him off.

"I got it." Bucky said. He stood up and put the glass in a pile on the counter. "I'll go see if a neighbor has a broom we can use."

"You really don't see anything?" Steve asked him tentatively.

"It's just one glass, Steve." Bucky said before stepping out into the hall. "Don't beat yourself up."

He knew Bucky was just trying to make him feel better about his usual tendency to be clumsy, but he couldn't help but fume with annoyance as he turned back towards the woman.

She re-crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. Now that was a look he was used to seeing on women he was around.

"I'm sorry….I called you it, miss - ma'am." His cheeks flushed again and he wiped at his brow with the sleeve of his sweater.

"I'm sorry I scared you." She smiled, her English accent seemed to compliment everything else about her.

"Um…" Steve stepped closer to her and began to walk around her. "You're a real ghost…"

"That's right." She nodded curtly. "Or a spirit, if you'd like to get fancy about it."

"How can I see you, then?" he stared at her arm, where the skin was white in comparison to her dark dress. This allowed him to barely see through to the other side.

"I don't know." She said. "No one's ever been able to see me before."

"Oh…kay." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "This is so weird…there's a ghost in my apartment."

" _Your_ apartment?" she asked, and he opened his eyes to see she was looking at him with amusement, a smile tugging on her lips. "This is my apartment.

"My name's on the lease." Steve said, smiling back.

"I lived here first."

"Lived. Not anymore." He retorted before he could stop himself.

Instead of getting offended again, a grin broke out on her face. "Oh, you're cheeky, aren't you?" she couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Alright, we'll just have to share."

"Share?" he asked, running a hand through his blond hair where his bangs were matted with sweat.

"Sure." She put her arms behind her back. "Half a dozen people have lived here in the time I've been…occupying the place. We've always accommodated each other fine."

"But none of them could see you?" Steve said.

"At least I'll have someone to talk to." She smiled. "Steve." It was as if she was trying his name out for the first time.

"What should I call you?" he asked, figuring _miss_ wouldn't do.

"Peggy will do just fine."

"Got one." Steve and Peggy turned to see Bucky come in with a broom.

"Oh, Uh, I'll do that." He took the broom from Bucky and began sweeping up the left-over glass as Bucky began unpacking some of the boxes.

They fell into silence as they worked. Peggy was watching them, aimlessly floating back and forth.

"So, you saw the ghost, huh?" Bucky asked after a minute. Sarcasm was dripping from every word.

"Yep." Steve could feel Peggy's gaze on him, and he felt his ears go red.

"Is she scary?" he asked.

"Nah, she just scared me, is all." Steve said, smiling as he glanced up to meet Peggy's eyes.

"Well, what does she look like?"

"She's really beautiful."

Peggy laughed, a very fine shade of red coloring her cheeks.

With the glass put away, and a few of the boxes unpacked, Bucky hoped up onto the counter again.

"I'm starving. I'm gonna order some food." He said, taking out his phone. "Should I order some for the ghost too?"

"I don't know." Steve glanced at Peggy, who smiled and shook her head when he asked. "Do ghosts eat?" He shook his head at Bucky. "I don't think ghosts eat."

"Whatever you say." Bucky ordered the food just as Mr. Barnes arrived with the rest of the boxes. Steve unrolled his sleeves and followed Bucky to the front door.

He glanced back over his shoulder before heading down to the truck, but Peggy was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Groggy with sleep, Steve pulled his sweater over his head the next morning. It was cold from laying on the hardwood floor all night. He wrapped one of the blankets from his make-shift pallet around his shoulders and walked into the living room.

Bucky was sitting on the futon eating a bowl of cereal, and Peggy was floating just to his left.

"Mornin'" Steve yawned, plopping down on the other side of him.

"Morning." Bucky and Peggy both replied.

"You look tired." Peggy remarked.

"Yea, well, sleeping on the floor kinda sucks." He mumbled.

"Hey, Dad's bringing the rest of our shit today." Bucky looked up from his cereal. "Beds…that table you like to draw at…he even said we could have that old armchair from the basement."

"Gross, doesn't that thing have dust mites?" Steve grimaced.

"Well, don't ever sit on it then…." Bucky stood up and went to the sink. "You got class today?"

"Yep." Steve replied, checking the time on his phone.

"Well say hey to Nat for me then." Bucky grabbed his jacket from the futon and zipped it up. "I gotta run."

"Bye." Steve called to him – Peggy even waved – as he left, shutting the door behind him.

Steve still had a while before he had to leave, so he decided to work in his sketchbook. As he worked quietly, Peggy watched him curiously.

"You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday." She remarked after a while.

"So are you…" Steve smirked, not looking up.

"Well, if I had the luxury to actually change clothes, I'd take advantage of it." She retorted, and Steve glanced up from his paper to see she was smirking back. "What's your excuse?"

"Laziness…" Steve shrugged, going back to his sketching and sinking further into the futon.

"Quite." She nodded. After a moment, she floated around to watch the paper from over his shoulder. "What are you drawing?" she leaned closer.

"Landscapes, nowhere in particular –" he trailed off when he realized he could feel her hair tickling the side of his face. It felt like a very cold breeze. It wasn't unpleasant.

"I like it." She said, reaching out to place her fingertip to the page. "Especially that tree."

"…Thanks." He shivered slightly when her shoulder brushed his. It was rather like standing by an open window in winter.

He turned his head slightly and watched her dark eyes scan slowly over the picture. The sepia tones of her being contrasted with the colors of the room, but that's what made her so enthralling to look at.

Her eyes flicked up from the page and locked with his. She gave him a shy smile and slowly lifted her hand from the paper. He shivered slightly as she brushed her fingertips against his cheek.

It felt like someone was running through his face with an ice-cold sword as he felt her hand pass through his cheek. They both gasped as she quickly withdrew her arm and flew several feet back.

He winced and reached up to rub at his face. She was holding one hand in the other and looking at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked, coming closer again.

"Yeah, yeah…" he quickly reassured her, removing his hand from his stinging cold skin. "You're just…really cold."

"I'm sorry! I didn't know that would happen!" she reached up to brush a dark lock of hair behind her ear. "I knew I could pass through objects…but I hadn't considered people…"

"It's fine." He chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, was it cold for you?"

"It was actually very hot." She whispered, her pupils dilating.

"Oh, um…" Steve felt himself blush to the tips of ears.

And then she was laughing – and he couldn't help but laugh too. The tension seemed to melt away as they laughed louder.

As her laughter grew louder, there was a sudden flash as the lightbulb overhead sparked and went out. She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Was that…you?" Steve asked, staring up at the bulb.

"Yes, sorry. That hasn't happened in a while. I can fix it." Peggy floated up towards the ceiling. She reached up, letting her hand pass through the light fixture and into the wires. After a second, the light flicked back on. She slowly came back down.

"That's…actually really cool." Steve remarked, sitting up further and crossing his legs beneath him.

"Oh, it's nothing." She shrugged. "But I have to keep my emotions in check around electricity and glass… I felt so bad when I would accidentally give the former residents such a scare. I suppose that's why no one stuck around long."

"I'm sorry…" Steve said, feeling a weight in his chest.

"They couldn't see me anyways…" she shrugged.

Steve flipped his sketchbook closed looked to give her his full attention. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Are you going to ask how I died?" she put her hands behind her back and floated side to side.

"You – you don't have to tell me…" he started.

"Oh, I'll tell you." She said, looking him in the eye. "But I'm afraid it's not very interesting. I slipped and hit my head on the counter."

"Oh…" his throat went dry at the mental image.

"The next thing I knew, I was looking down at my own body. I tried to console Angie when she found me the next morning, but she couldn't see me. So I watched as they came in and took my body away, no one noticing me, no matter how many times I screamed. I screamed until the mirror in the bathroom shattered. Angie moved out soon after. I think I really scared her but I had no way to watch over her after she was gone."

Steve could feel his pulse in his throat. He swiped at his brow with a corner of his blanket, which suddenly felt too warm. "How long ago?" his voice was slight.

"December, 1945." Peggy sighed.

"That was seventy years ago!" Steve found his voice again.

"Has it really been that long?" Peggy asked. "I mean, everyday just seems to turn into the next. For the longest time I wanted to check on my family…"

"You couldn't find them?"

"I can pass through these walls, but as soon as I get to the front door…it's like something is holding me back, physically. So I didn't, I mean…I never…"

"You never left this apartment…." Steve finished for her.

"It's not so bad…" she sighed. "I get to be alone with my thoughts."

"Doesn't seem like you'd have many new and interesting thoughts left after so long…"

"I'm having a new and interesting thought right now…" she whispered, and now she was so close that Steve could see through her face to the wall behind her.

It was so warm that he let the blanket fall from his shoulders, though his skin started to prickle with ice when she moved closer to him. Their faces were inches apart, and he could see the universe in her dark eyes.

They both jumped as Steve's phone alarm went off in the quiet room. Peggy floated back a bit and kept her eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry…I uh, have to go." Steve told her.

"That's alright." She said, lifting her gaze. "I'll still be here when you get back."

"Right…" he smiled.

He seemed to beat himself up the whole walk to the bus stop.

 _What the hell were you doing back there? Trying to kiss her? She's a ghost! Though she was the one getting all close…_

Steve tried to keep any invading thoughts about Peggy away the whole day, though finally at lunch with Nat, he found himself sketching pictures of a pale woman with the universe in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey…" Bucky didn't look up from the tv when Steve came home that evening. Steve looked around the living room and saw that, along with the tv, the table and chairs were here too.

"Everything looks good." Steve set his books down on the table.

"Yea, dad was helping me move all it all, but he didn't wanna stay long." Bucky smiled. "He said he heard some weird noises from your room."

"Weird noises?" Steve asked nervously. "Well, what did you tell him?"

"I said it was the ghost…" Bucky changed through the tv channels lazily.

"Buck, don't tell people that…" Steve leaned over the back of the futon and gave his friend a look.

"What? Dad got a kick out of it, but he did wonder how you felt about being stuck with the haunted room."

"Tell him I don't mind at all." Steve went back to the table and picked up his stuff.

"Hey, you wanna play xbox?" Bucky asked.

"I have homework." Steve went down the hall and opened his door.

His bed and dresser were in the room, making it look less bare. They was also a few boxes on the floor containing the last of his stuff, but no sign of Peggy.

He dropped his books on the dresser and backpack on the floor. Earlier in class, he'd found a webpage on ghosts that he'd wanted to show her. He went to the closet and opened it. It was empty aside from the clothes he had put away. He went into the bathroom, but she wasn't there either.

"Peggy?" Steve whispered, entering his room and closing the door behind him. "Peggy?" he called louder.

After a second, he saw Peggy float in from the back wall. It was enthralling in its own right.

"Oh, you're home." She smiled. He'd been sketching that smile all day, but those were nothing like the real thing.

"Were where you?" he asked, getting his computer out of his backpack.

"I was in your friend's room. I wanted to see what he'd done with it. That used to be Angie's room when we both lived here."

"Oh, really?" he wondered who Angie was, and what Peggy used to be like, for that matter. It felt a little strange to ask.

"And this," she floated across the room to gaze in the dresser mirror (though her reflection didn't show up.) "This was actually my room."

Steve looked around and tried to imagine her living here in 1946. She would've had friends, a job, and maybe go out some nights to have fun. He wondered if she still got sad about that kind of stuff.

"Hey, I found this website I wanted to show you." He carried the laptop to the bed and sat down.

"What it is? I don't have much experience with the internet…" she came to hover beside him and her cold aura actually refreshing.

"It's about other people who have ghosts in their house too. They just talk about their experiences and stuff." What Steve didn't tell her was that he'd found it by searching _I have a crush on a ghost._

"What do other people have to say?" Peggy crossed her arms and knitted her eyebrows together.

"Oh, just that they have ghosts that they talk to as well. " he began scrolling down the page. "Their ghosts can go through walls, interfere with electricity – woah." He stopped scrolling.

"What?" Peggy asked, leaning closer to the screen.

"Possess humans." Steve whispered, glancing at her. "Can you do that?"

"H-honestly, what sort of question is that?!" she floated away from the bed, turning her back to him and crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!" he pushed the computer off his lap and walked over to her.

"It's just…after this morning…it's just, I thought you liked me for me, not just because I'm a ghost!" her voice was quiet but harsh.

"I do!" he said, his heart momentarily leaping when he realized he wasn't alone in his feeling about that morning. "I just think it's really cool that you're a ghost…"

"It's not quite so glamorous." Peggy sighed. "It's very boring…and lonely. You haven't anyone to talk to…"

"Well, now you have me." Steve said, he hesitantly reached out and placed his fingertips on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, it's just…I'm not very good at talking to –"

"To ghosts?" Peggy smirked, and Steve pulled his hand back when he turned around to face him.

"No, to women." He laughed. "I mean, I think you living in my house is the most significant relationship I've ever had with one."

"Are you saying we're in a relationship?" she raised an eyebrow.

"O-oh, that's not what I meant—" he began stuttering a reply, but stopped when she saw she was laughing.

"Steve…" she stopped laughing and sighed dreamily. Her eyes were level with his and he could see the universe in her pupils again. "Kiss me." For a second he thought he was hearing things, because how on earth could he-?

And then her mouth was on his, and it was like kissing ice in the best possible way. It scorched his skin and he felt freezing cold in his core, still, he couldn't help but fill with longing for more.

Her cold hands where on the sides of his face, holding him to her. He realized that however freezing cold it was for him – it was just as burning hot for her.

What was quite possibly the best and strangest experience of his life, was soon over as she pulled back, lifting her hands from his face.

He was slightly out of breath, and downright shivering. Peggy had a slight color across her cheeks, and Steve was sure he looked a million times redder.

"Now that was…hot." She said, and he didn't know if she meant literally or figuratively, but he had to agree.

"Y-yes." He said, his voice small. His body was fighting a battle between burning up and freezing.

"Steve, have you ever been with a woman?" she whispered, her face still inches from his.

"N-no." there was no point in lying, it's not like he could lose face at this point.

"If you'd let me…I'd take good care of you…" she leaned in, and he could feel her lips brushing just below his ear. Her hand trailed down the front of his shirt, and he could feel her icy touch even through the thick material.

He could feel himself grow hard instantly at her words. He's been told his whole life that he's too scrawny, so he never takes his shirt off unless he absolutely has too, but now he knows that she wouldn't care.

Peggy's lips moved to his neck and latched lightly onto his skin. It was so fucking cold, but so fucking good. His hands when to the hem of his sweater, and he pulled it off over his head. She didn't even have to stop, as the shirt passed through her with ease and landed on the floor.

Steve was sure he was going to have hypothermia when this was all said and done, but you couldn't pay him to stop. Her hands travelled across his skinny chest, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She finally pulled off of his neck, and he stifled a groan at the loss of contact. Her pupils were blown as her eyes hungrily drunk in his chest. She was looking at him as if she'd never seen anything so amazing.

"Peggy…" Steve's voice was husky with lust.

Her eyes flicked from his to over his shoulder in the direction of the bed. She nudged him backwards slightly, careful not to let her hands pass through him.

Steve backed up until he hit the bed and sat down. The mattress creaked beneath him, but neither of them seemed to notice.

"Lay down." She whispered, and he did.

He felt her cold presence travel down his body, the tips of her nails along his ribs. He lifted his head to watch as she slowly wrapped her mouth around the tented fabric of his crotch. His head fell back and he let out a moan. He would have taken his pants off if she had asked, but there was no need. Her tongue passed through the layers of fabric, and quickly moved up and down his shaft.

It was like the cold only added to pleasure. It was almost impossible to keep from making noises, and he prayed to god that Bucky wouldn't walk in, because there was no way on earth he'd be able to explain this.

Steve was so close already, but he couldn't say a word. Her mouth slid up and down his member, and he came without warning when he felt the tip of her tongue briefly pass through the vein along the bottom of his erection.

All of him cum passed through her face, coating the front of his pants. He couldn't speak for breathing. His skin was on fire and he could feel his thighs trembling. He opened his eyes and she was floating above him, looking down at him with absolute adoration.

"You're crying." She said.

"A-am I?" He asked, taking a second to process her words in his cloudy brain.

"You are." She nodded. He put one hand to his cheek and felt tears.

"They're tears of joy, I guess." He chuckled nervously, sitting up in the bed. "I just feel bad that I can't pleasure you back."

"Honestly, don't worry about me, Steve." She said, her gaze still locked on him as if he were gold. "You should probably change clothes though…."

"Oh…yea." He chuckled. Her eyes didn't leave him the entire time as he changed clothes.

Just as he was pulling a clean t-shirt over his head, Bucky opened his bedroom door.

"Hey man, you want some pizza?" he asked.

Steve glanced over his shoulder at Peggy. "Go on." He mouthed, nodding her head at him.

"Sure."

So Steve and Bucky hung out in the living room and ate pizza like usual. Bucky told him all about his day at work, and Steve told him about school. Around ten, Steve had to turn in for the night, as he also had work tomorrow. He went back to his room to see Peggy was still there.

"Hey, I feel bad about leaving you alone in here." Steve said as he laid down on the bed. "You could have come out there."

"I didn't want to distract you." She said, giving him a smile. "It's important to spend time with people you love now, while you can. Trust me.

"Well, don't you get bored in here?" he asked with a yawn.

"I find ways to pass the time." She said, floating up to the ceiling to turn the light off.

"Can I ask you something?" he was cautious. "Do ghosts…sleep?"

"Sort of." She came to lay next to him. "It's not really sleeping…more like suspended animation."

"I have to go to work at the café tomorrow." He said sleepily. "But I'll leave the tv on so you'll have something to watch while I'm gone."

"That's a very nice gesture, thank you." Peggy closed her eyes.

"Goodnight Peggy." Steve whispered.

"Goodnight...my darling."


End file.
